"???"
Seeing his marked Asparagus Ice Fire Fruit being snatched right in front of him, Yun Tianming suddenly turned his head.
But as his somewhat stern gaze locked onto the owner of the small hand beside him, his furrowed brow immediately relaxed.
'So it's her, no wonder she can ignore spatial barriers!'
Appearing next to Yun Tianming was a little girl in white, only reaching up to his waist. She appeared to be around twelve or thirteen years old, with long light purple hair hanging down to her waist. Her cheeks were extraordinarily tender and her whole appearance seemed like it was meticulously crafted, with a pair of dark and lively eyes blinking innocently, giving off a somewhat silly and cute aura.
If someone were a fan of Lolis, they probably couldn't resist picking her up and holding her high, right?
Yun Tianming's eyes remained clear and unaffected as he calmly said, "Student, taking someone else's things without permission isn't very nice, is it?"
"There's a scent on you that I'm familiar with."
The girl didn't answer Yun Tianming's question. Instead, she sniffed his scent with a puzzled expression and murmured.
Yun Tianming was first startled, then he remembered the Eighth Grade Pill he had taken earlier: Void Dragon Core, which contained a trace of the bloodline power of an Ancient Void Dragon.
Coincidentally, the girl in front of him was a juvenile Ancient Void Dragon!
Yun Tianming's mind stirred, and he pretended to be surprised as he asked, "I also feel a strange familiarity with you. Maybe we're relatives?"
Zi Yan! The future Dragon Sovereign of the Ancient Void Dragons!
Yun Tianming naturally wouldn't miss this great opportunity to build a good relationship.
"Relatives? Do I... still have family?"
Zi Yan was initially stunned, then her silly eyes revealed a trace of excitement.
Since childhood, she had been orphaned, lonely in the Magic Beast Mountains, enduring many hardships along the way. After accidentally consuming a Transformation Grass, she ended up in her current form and was brought to Jia Nan Academy by Su Qian who happened to pass by.
"Poor child, from now on, you can consider me your family."
Yun Tianming put on a gentle and broad smile, reaching out to gently stroke Zi Yan's little head.
Unexpectedly, Zi Yan reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, batting away his hand, hands on hips, glaring at him indignantly. "I'm not a child! Besides, human, I'm older than your parents!"
Zi Yan wasn't foolish either. Upon careful sensing, she confirmed that he was indeed a genuine human. She couldn't fathom why he emitted a familiar Magic Beast aura, likely due to some fortuitous encounter.
"Cough cough~ According to the ages of humans and Magic Beasts, they cannot be completely equivalent. From the perspective of humans, you really are just a juvenile."
Yun Tianming explained.
"I'm not listening! I'm not listening!"
Zi Yan shook her head and angrily took a bite of the golden herb in her hand.
Yun Tianming immediately recognized it as a rare herb called "Adamantine Bodhisattva," which had a body as tough as golden iron. Even ordinary flames couldn't harm it, let alone biting with teeth. However, with Zi Yan's neat and white little teeth, the crisp sound of it snapping, like a mountain rock fracturing, echoed in the spacious room.
Crunch~ Crunch~
Zi Yan transformed into a metal-eating beast and quickly devoured the Adamantine Bodhisattva in her hand.
Yun Tianming sighed inwardly. If it were a human, or even a Magic Beast, swallowing the Adamantine Bodhisattva would likely tear their guts apart due to its overpowering medicinal strength. Only Zi Yan, as the Ancient Void Dragon, could digest the furious potency of the Adamantine Bodhisattva.
"Yikes~ It tastes really bad."
"But I have to keep eating to grow taller!"
Zi Yan licked her lips, still wanting more, and lifted the Asparagus Ice Fire Fruit in her other hand. With her mouth slightly open, it looked like she intended to take a bite of this one too.
"No!"
Yun Tianming immediately moved to snatch back the Asparagus Ice Fire Fruit from her hand.
"You want to steal my stuff?"
Zi Yan's small hand shot out like lightning, extending two snow-white and tender fingers, firmly gripping Yun Tianming's palm.
Yun Tianming felt as if his hand was caught in tiny iron tongs, a terrifying strength far beyond that of a Dou King pressing him down.
"Sorry, this is something I have my eye on."
Suddenly, Yun Tianming erupted with powerful Dou Qi, instantly breaking free from Zi Yan's grasp and swiftly reclaiming the Asparagus Ice Fire Fruit from her hand, quickly storing it in his Spatial Ring.
"What?"
Zi Yan's eyes widened at first. As the number one Zi Yan Senior Sister on the inner courtyard power list, everyone would hide when they saw her. Even the elders in the Academy could not do anything to her. She never expected that her "food" would be snatched away by a young-looking "junior brother".
"Swoosh~"
A purple shadow flashed, and Zi Yan attacked at a very fast speed, grabbing Yun Tianming.
"Boom~"
Accompanied by a dull thunder, Yun Tianming performed Motionless Thunder Roar, and his figure turned into a flash of lightning and retreated quickly.
"Stop right there!"
Zi Yan stomped her small feet heavily on the ground, and used the bounce of the strange force to rush towards Yun Tianming at high speed.
"Oh my~ You naughty kid, you're going to be spanked~" Yun Tianming dodged easily by leaning sideways, and at the same time, he kept his word and spanked her on the butt.
Smack!
A loud sound echoed in the spacious warehouse.
"You!"
Zi Yan's body stiffened, her cute little face instantly turning crimson. But this wasn't shyness—it was pure anger!
Just like you can't touch a tiger's butt, you can't touch a little ancient dragon's butt either!!
"Today, I must beat you up!"
"A naughty child who doesn't listen deserves a spanking!"
"Damn it! Watch me punch you to death with my little fists!"
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
Zi Yan exploded in fury. Her instantaneous burst of combat power made even Dou Emperor-level experts temporarily avoid her edge. Unfortunately for her, she met Yun Tianming, destined to be held firmly in check.
"Wuwuwu~ I'm going to tell Master Su on you!"
Zi Yan hugged her smoking little behind, gritting her silver teeth, tears welling up in her eyes, a look of wanting to cry but enduring it, looking aggrieved and pitiful.
"What are you accusing me of? I've told you, I reserved this herb. Why didn't you listen?"
Yun Tianming rolled his eyes, feeling righteous.
"I-I don't care! Y-You bully children! In human society, this is a crime!"
Zi Yan accused loudly, repeating what she had heard from her junior brothers and sisters in the inner courtyard, although she didn't quite understand it all.
"Oh~ now you admit you're a child again?"
Yun Tianming chuckled, then took out a pill from his Spatial Ring and stuffed it into Zi Yan's mouth. Sometimes a sweet treat after a scolding was the correct way to discipline.
"Mmm~ What did you make me eat? Hmm? It's so sweet! So delicious!!"
Feeling the sweet pill melting in her mouth, pure energy flowing into her body, warming her belly, Zi Yan instantly went from tears to laughter.
****
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